Well, that’s how much Los Federales will provide to North Carolina. How much this boondoggle will cost the people of NC is unknown at this time
Transportation officials said Tuesday they’ve reached an agreement that will allow them to obtain $461 million in federal grants to improve passenger train service between North Carolina’s two largest cities.
The pact will allow faster and more frequent passenger service between Charlotte and Raleigh.
Awesome! How many people actually take the train currently? I’ve lived in Raleigh since 1994. Too be honest, I didn’t even know there was a train that went from Raleigh to Charlotte. I’ve never known anyone who took it, or even talked about taking it. Why bother? You jump on I-40, which merges with I-85, then stay left on I-85 in Greensboro down to Charlotte. Takes about 3 hours or less…..
Officials say the new service would cut travel time from Charlotte to Raleigh to less than three hours, even with seven stops along the way.
So, why not bring your own car? Oh, right. Globull warming or something.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the grants are part of President Obama’s vision for a national high-speed rail system that “will link 80 percent of Americans in the next 25 years, and lay the foundation for an economy that moves people, good and information quickly, safely and reliably than anywhere else in the world.”
Whew! I’m not sure how else I would get to Charlotte from Raleigh…….what’s that? There’s already a method that links 99.9% of Americans, and the other .1% don’t want to be linked for various reasons? They’re called “roads”? Who knew?
Strangely, some business owners, who could see their stores close, have a problem with the rail plan. And some homeowners are concerned.
The same thing is happening here in Florida where a high speed rail link was planned by the Feds between Tampa and Orlando in the “I4 Corridor.” Obama’s stimulous plan put some 2.3 billion into the building the thing and left any additional costs to Florida taxpayers. So anything like cost overruns would all be heaped upon the citizens of Florida.
Ticket prizes were expected to be more than $400, which is enough to rent a car for a week.
Newly elected Rick Scott told the president “no thanks” and was ripped by environmentalists who think that trains don’t use energy and are powered on pixie dust.
But what is most amazing is that the money – billions of dollars – is going elsewhere. Instead of saying “okay, you don’t want this so we will throw the money back into the treasury for projects that are already on the books,” Obama is looking to expand high speed rail into places that don’t have it, and so the money is going to be spent no matter what.
They just don’t get the idea of reigning in spending.
I agree GC. When we have massive debt and financial collapse, this congress wants to spend billions on things people don’t need and can’t use (price, availability, efficiency).
And don’t forget, “grants” often come with strings attached. Like, we’ll give you this money for the train, but you will have to change a few laws, or spend extra money on unemployed and Medicare.
Recall they tied blood alcohol level to highway funding while back.
Tying Federal education reforms to education dollars.
Another reason almost all tax dollars should stay home. The only monies that should go to Feds is to pay for national security and VA.
If I understood the report on NC 14, this isn’t for high speed rail, it’s to add a track to allow trains to pass in opposite directions along the route from Greensboro to Charlotte.
[…] NC High Speed Rail Will Cost Just $461 Million Whew! I’m not sure how else I would get to Charlotte from Raleigh…….what’s that? There’s already a method that links 99.9% of Americans, and the other .1% don’t want to be linked for various reasons? They’re called “roadsâ€? Who knew? […]
Adobe:
Quote:
“The state Department of Transportation said some of the stimulus money will be used to lay new tracks between Greensboro and Charlotte. Curves will be straightened to allow passenger trains to reach maximum speeds of 90 mph, and 12 new bridges will eliminate 30 highway-rail crossings.”
So, in order to get the monies for the track improvements, the state would have to also agree to build the high speed rail system.
Quote:
A number of Republican lawmakers also said they don’t want North Carolina committing itself to operating high-speed rail by taking the federal cash.
But, some see this as the perfect social welfare program….
Quote:
Rep. Becky Carney, D-Mecklenburg, said she believes high-speed rail is needed, especially with commuters paying more to put gas in their vehicles.
“We have got to continue moving forward progressively with mass transit in this state,” Carney said.
Clearly I am not being thoughtful enough about the environmental impact here; but if any form of transportation is not able to sustain itself and make its own improvements and hopefully even profits, what business does our government have in propagating it further? You/we wouldn’t want our tax dollars to help a bank or a car company that couldn’t manage to run itself and make profits, would you- oh wait a minute…